I don't know if I'd try it with council rates, if they don't get their extortion/rates they're likely to come after the house. Maybe as a delaying tactic it could buy some time and put them on hold for a while though.

We've had 2 referendums where the Australian public were asked if we should have local government and both times the Australian people have said no, so council is really an illegitimate form of government that shouldn't exist. If an entire district or even just a large percentage of the district banded together and started sending their "notices" back it could get really interesting. The burden of the legal bills the council racked up chasing all that bad debt could bury it.